QPID-8051: add some initial notes on releasing
diff --git a/RELEASE.md b/RELEASE.md
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+### Building a release for vote:
+
+1. Grab a clean checkout for safety.
+2. Run: "git checkout ${BRANCH}" if needed to switch to branch of the intended release point.
+3. Update the versions etc:
+ - setup.py
+4. Commit the changes, tag them.
+ - Run: "git add ."
+ - Run: 'git commit -m "update versions for ${TAG}"'
+ - Run: 'git tag -m "tag ${TAG}" ${TAG}'
+5. Run: "bin/export.sh $PWD ${TAG}" to create the qpid-python-${VERSION}.tar.gz release archive.
+6. Create signature and checksums for the archive:
+ - e.g "gpg --detach-sign --armor qpid-python-${VERSION}.tar.gz"
+ - e.g "sha512sum qpid-python-${VERSION}.tar.gz > qpid-python-${VERSION}.tar.gz.sha512"
+ - e.g "md5sum qpid-python-${VERSION}.tar.gz > qpid-python-${VERSION}.tar.gz.md5"
+7. Push branch changes and tag.
+ - Also update versions to the applicable snapshot version for future work on it.
+8. Commit artifacts to dist dev repo in https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/qpid/python/${TAG} dir.
+9. Send vote email, provide links to dist dev repo and JIRA release notes.
+
+### After a vote succeeds:
+
+1. If needed, tag the RC bits with the final name/version.
+2. Commit the artifacts to dist release repo in https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/release/qpid/python/${VERSION} dir:
+ - e.g: svn cp -m "add files for qpid-python-${VERSION}" https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/dev/qpid/python/${TAG}/ https://dist.apache.org/repos/dist/release/qpid/python/${VERSION}/
+3. Give the mirrors some time to distribute things. Usually 24hrs to be safe, less if needed.
+ - https://www.apache.org/mirrors/ gives stats on mirror age + last check etc.
+4. Update the website with release content.
+5. Send release announcement email.
